Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the practice of gazumping; and whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary reservation agreements in residential sales.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognise that the home buying and selling process in England and Wales is inefficient and costly for consumers and professionals. We continue to review evidence from other jurisdictions, including on reservation agreements, as we consider next steps.
Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase the supply of social housing in Nuneaton constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question 10272 on 28 October 2024.
Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to (a) buy unoccupied housing in longstanding disrepair at a reduced rate and (b) raise council tax on long-term unoccupied housing to ensure properties are kept in the market in a suitable condition.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years.
Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found here.
Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing district councils to be constituent members of Combined County Authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Existing combined county authority legislation provides that only upper tier local authorities in the area of a combined county authority can be constituent members. District councils are an important part of local government, and as non-constituent members can play an active role in any combined county authority in their area, should they wish.
It is important that all local authorities are engaged and actively involved in improving their areas, working across all levels of government for the interests of the local community.
Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on levels of prevalence of aluminium composite material cladding on buildings in Nuneaton constituency.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are no buildings in the Nuneaton constituency that have been identified with unsafe cladding.